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Editor’s note: This content is provided for informational purposes only. It is not meant to diagnose or treat any condition. If you are concerned about your nutrition or any other aspect of your health, see a licensed health care provider in person.
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It seems like everyone’s got a different opinion on sugar. Some say processed sugar is harmful while natural sugar from fruit is okay and even necessary for the human body. These claims are founded in logical science, but my experience with eliminating every kind of sugar possible told me a different story. While natural sugars found in fruit may not be high on the glycemic index, meaning, they won’t raise insulin levels too much, I experienced health benefits by eliminating all of it.
Why would anyone give up every source of sugar? I wasn’t on some fad diet. I was on a quest to figure out how to optimize this machine called the human body. My human body. I wasn’t interested in following anyone else’s protocol; I wanted to discover my own. I started by ditching sugar and eating as few ingredients and foods as possible.
My Process of Elimination
Thankfully, I didn’t have to ditch soda or candy because those were never part of my diet. However, I realized there was sugar in just about everything I was eating, even if it was only a little bit.
First, I ditched sweetened ketchup and replaced it with Primal Organic’s unsweetened ketchup. It’s a popular brand carried in most co-ops and organic markets. It didn’t taste bland like I expected. It tasted like…squished, spiced tomatoes. And it came right out of the jar, no knife assistance required.
Next up, I stopped eating fruit. This was rough because my morning smoothie consisted of Orgain chocolate protein powder mixed with spirulina and chlorella from the Natural News health food store, hemp seeds, MCT oil, frozen strawberries or blueberries, and hemp milk as a base. I eliminated the fruit and switched to water because there were a few questionable ingredients in the hemp milk.
Although my plant-based protein powder didn’t contain sugar, there were far too many ingredients in it: nineteen ingredients to be exact. I was on a mission to optimize my body’s performance and needed to consume as few ingredients as possible. I switched back to whey protein and started using Precision ISO from BioHealth Nutrition. I stuck with chocolate because I prefer simple flavors. There are literally three ingredients, and it’s sweetened with stevia which is why it worked so well for my process.
I further simplified my eating habits by following a simple rule: if it comes in a package or container, avoid it unless necessary. I made a few exceptions, like my ketchup, but for the most part, I ate only eggs, avocado, and hard cheeses.
At first, I wasn’t going to eat cheese, but I learned that hard cheese contains less sugar in the form of lactose than soft cheese. That’s why some lactose intolerant people have no problem with parmesan. Cheese begins soft, and is hardened by allowing an enzyme to eat the lactose; the more lactose the enzyme consumes, the harder the cheese gets. Learning that fact, I welcomed organic, raw, sharp cheddar cheese into my diet with open arms.
I unintentionally stopped eating vegetables, too.
This may sound odd, but I stopped eating vegetables on accident. My body just didn’t want them, so I went along with it. Avoiding veggies is part of the “Carnivore diet,” so it’s not a new concept. Many people who follow that diet experience a drastic reduction in autoimmune symptoms. Mikhaila Peterson, for example, was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis at the age of seven. By age seventeen, she had to get a hip and ankle replacement. Eliminating leafy greens and eating only meat transformed her life. I figured even though I didn’t have an autoimmune disease, eliminating vegetables might reduce inflammation I’m unaware of.
My body responded.
I’m not saying it’s a good idea to stop eating fruits and vegetables forever, but about two months into my experiment, I began noticing drastic changes. My skin got softer and stopped splitting in places skin shouldn’t split (like my wrists). My mood improved and I wasn’t easily irritated. My taste buds were heightened. Suddenly, I couldn’t stand putting my favorite Himalayan salt on my food because it intensified the flavor too much. I had more energy. I slept better and more deeply. Most of all, I stopped feeling hunger in my belly and began feeling hunger in my throat. I had always heard people say true hunger is felt in the throat, not in the belly, and I finally got what that means.
My snacks are different, now.
After about a year of experimenting, I found my body’s optimal food sources. I also tuned into my body’s wisdom, and allowed it to tell me when to eat fruits and vegetables rather than listening to my mind. I still snack on the occasional cookie or bag of chips, but it’s rare. Now, the best snack in the world is a spoonful of freshly ground peanut butter and a small dab of honey on top. Yes, it’s sugar, but it’s natural, so it’s okay.
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This content is sponsored by Larry Alton
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Photo credit: Shutterstock
